The Early Street Community Garden was "living on borrowed time," according to one of its founders. But after an influx of cash, Morristown plans to buy the land, upon which 50 families garden.Courtesy of Grow it Green Morristown

MORRISTOWN — A nonprofit-run community garden serving 50 families seems to have secured its future here.

The town will buy the land Grow It Green Morristown has been effectively borrowing for the past four years, saving the .9-acre Early Street garden from eventual redevelopment, according to co-founder Samantha Rothman.

But with Morristown receiving about $480,000 from the state Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres Program and about $1.575 million from the Morris County Preservation Trust, the town plans to buy the parcel, according to a Star-Ledger report.

Rothman said the news was "beyond whatever we thought was going to happen" for the garden, which opened in 2009 and uses just about two-thirds of the land. She said Grow It Green plans to expand the garden, adding an addition 15 to 25 plots. The garden's wait list is already 60 families deep, she said.

"We thought, even if the garden gets wrecked, for the time that it's here, people will see what a great asset open space is," she said.

The money Morristown received was part of $4.4 million county freeholders approved to preserve 84 acres across nine Morris County towns.

Redevelopment plans for the garden also include benches and a public park, Rothman said.

"We're next-door to two senior buildings," she said. "They don't have high-quality outdoor space. So whatever we install at the the plot at Early Street — there will be amenities specifically for them to enjoy."

Rothman said the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit land conservation organization, played a large role in helping secure the funding.